Yesterday was another doctors appointment. We saw Dr. No ... I figure since he may be the doctor on call when D-day arrives, we may as well get used to him. He felt Miss Amabo and says that she feels like she is head down! YEAH! Of course, this can all be attributed to the hand stand in the pool a couple of weeks ago. That's what I am telling myself anyway - there is no way I went through that embarrassment for nothin'.
Dr. No also remarked that he was pleased with my weight gain ... so I guess I have cut back on the juice and been eatin enough apples lately. So that's good, too.
This is a quick update ... I promise another novel later.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Birthing Class and More
A little less than 6 weeks (40 days to expected due date which happens 5% of time) to go and I think we both are starting to get real excited and nervous about the arrival of Amabo. I know SC will be glad to have her ribs back to herself. I can’t imagine what she is going through but she is being a real trooper. We had a baby shower this past weekend in Asheville. The generosity that our friends and families have shown throughout this process has been simply incredible, thank you, thank you, thank you! We got some many great and wonderful gifts that they would not fit in the car and will have to be transported to Raleigh at a later time. We have a large car and a rooftop carrier yet had to leave stuff in Asheville. I refused to overcrowd the dogs in the back and Sarah was adamant that we could not leave her mother in Asheville. We can never express how thankful we are to all the folks around us during this time in our lives.
With new gifts there will come a new inventory. Not sure if we mentioned that, we have inventoried all of her clothes to see what gaps we have and what we need to fill and see what we are missing and need to get. There is a doctors appointment on Wednesday and after I think they increase in frequency to one a week. I am working a photography project her room. I am taking pictures of stuff in the world that looks like letter of the alaphabet and we plan to spell her name out in framed pictures. This has been a real fun project and I hope it turns out well.
With new gifts there will come a new inventory. Not sure if we mentioned that, we have inventoried all of her clothes to see what gaps we have and what we need to fill and see what we are missing and need to get. There is a doctors appointment on Wednesday and after I think they increase in frequency to one a week. I am working a photography project her room. I am taking pictures of stuff in the world that looks like letter of the alaphabet and we plan to spell her name out in framed pictures. This has been a real fun project and I hope it turns out well.
Birthing class has been fun and enjoyable so far. Our teacher is this old and crazy (in a good way) lady and it is weird to hear talk about birth. On top of that she has a lazy eye and I never know which one to look at when she talks. We told her about Amabo being in a breech position and she talked to us during a break and gave us some off the record remedies that we may be able to use to entice Amabo to flip; off the record of course. One involves a Chinese Roman candle of some sort and touching your pinky toe. There was one that had SC putting an ice pack on Amabo's noggin side of her stomach while holding something warm at the the other end to encourage her to flip. We will let you know what method we use and the resutls. We watched the birthing video and I was not that impressed, I thought it would be a little more graphic. The tour of the hospital was informative; Rex is clearly the best place to have a kid in the area. The place is so secure that the kid will have an anklet and bracelet (hopefully only time she will have to wear these) and if she gets too close to the exits of the birthing center the place goes automatically on lockdown. Doors lock and no one is able to get out to the situation is resolved. Tonight’s class is a simulation of what will be going on during the process so we will see how that goes. That's about all for now, its getting more real everyday and I get goosebumps thinking that good lord willing, I will be holding her soon. Tuesday, February 10, 2009
A Breeched Amabo
Amabo's head is creating so much pressure in my ribs that I am completely convinced that she will come out with permanent rib indentations in the side of her head! Hopefully she will have good hair - otherwise it is going to be a hard road in elementary school.
Seriously ... this is ridiculous. Do all pregnant women have this kind of pressure? Not to mention the fact that my stomach is now living uncomfortably in my throat, along with my lungs and whatever organs are in the region.
I recently found a website about turning a breech baby - one of the suggestions was do a hand stand in the pool. Since I have a water aerobics class for pregnant women every Tuesday, I thought that tonight would be a good opportunity to do this. Let me just state a couple things for the record: 1) I am not a graceful person. 2) I am not a good swimmer...I know, you would think, well, it's just a hand stand, you don't have to swim. Let me restate this ... I like to lounge in the pool - preferably with a drink that includes a small toothpick umbrella. Water aerobics (which does not involve swimming) is as active as I get in the pool. Let's just say that I will likely not be embarrassing myself again by attempting this next week.
So - on to the next attempts to get this baby to flip herself around. The next tactic involves taking an upside down position on an ironing board that is reclined against the couch (or stairs). This should be about as graceful looking as the head stand in the pool. Maybe next I'll just have Dan hold my by the ankles and shake me up and down.
Okay - so the truth is, I don't really have to worry about this right now. The doctor said that they don't start to worry about the breech position until 37 weeks - which means I have a little less than 5 weeks. However, I am a planner - which means that if we can go ahead and get her head down in advance then we will be ahead of the curve. My other concern is that since she is measuring big (which I also know I have to take with a grain of salt) is that she will get to big to turn and then there will be nothing I can do. So - none of these things are going to hurt the situation (at least in theory....) so I may as well try.
Why is this so important? It isn't ... truthfully. Although I would really like to do this whole birth thing the natural way (of course I am not above accepting the epidural)! So why do I want to do it the natural way? Because I have a fear of doing pregnancy wrong. Even though many people I know, many wonderful mothers in fact gave birth by c-section, somehow I believe that this child birth thing is an experience I want. In the end, what I really want is for Amabo to come the safest way possible for her and for me ... and if that is via a c-section because she is a giant baby who refuses to turn then que sera!
On another note: In a recent email exchange with a good friend who has offered to dog sit and clean house while we are in the hospital laboring away (and when I say we, I mean me!), she wrote, "Knowing you, it will be a quick labor, which you will have pre-planned into 15 minute increments. Everyone, including A-bot [Amabo], will have a copy of the birthing itinerary, and they damn well better stick to it." I was pleased at this remark because it shows how well this friend truly knows me. It's true. And for the record, as part of the birthing plan it states that Amabo will not be in the breech position - clearly she has not read her copy of the plan! Really, though, I do everything by a schedule. When I was in college (not that I am proud of this ... well, yes I am), I used to take the syllabi for my classes and break out the number of pages, etc...that I had to read each night in order to get through the book/chapter/project by the due date. I clean by a schedule, I work by a schedule. Everything is a schedule. It is the way that I keep myself organized and therefore sane. I have a feeling the motherhood may change some of these things - in fact, pregnancy is teaching me in many ways to let go of the things that I cannot control. Clearly, I still believe that I can control the position that Miss Amabo is in!
Seriously ... this is ridiculous. Do all pregnant women have this kind of pressure? Not to mention the fact that my stomach is now living uncomfortably in my throat, along with my lungs and whatever organs are in the region.
I recently found a website about turning a breech baby - one of the suggestions was do a hand stand in the pool. Since I have a water aerobics class for pregnant women every Tuesday, I thought that tonight would be a good opportunity to do this. Let me just state a couple things for the record: 1) I am not a graceful person. 2) I am not a good swimmer...I know, you would think, well, it's just a hand stand, you don't have to swim. Let me restate this ... I like to lounge in the pool - preferably with a drink that includes a small toothpick umbrella. Water aerobics (which does not involve swimming) is as active as I get in the pool. Let's just say that I will likely not be embarrassing myself again by attempting this next week.
So - on to the next attempts to get this baby to flip herself around. The next tactic involves taking an upside down position on an ironing board that is reclined against the couch (or stairs). This should be about as graceful looking as the head stand in the pool. Maybe next I'll just have Dan hold my by the ankles and shake me up and down.
Okay - so the truth is, I don't really have to worry about this right now. The doctor said that they don't start to worry about the breech position until 37 weeks - which means I have a little less than 5 weeks. However, I am a planner - which means that if we can go ahead and get her head down in advance then we will be ahead of the curve. My other concern is that since she is measuring big (which I also know I have to take with a grain of salt) is that she will get to big to turn and then there will be nothing I can do. So - none of these things are going to hurt the situation (at least in theory....) so I may as well try.
Why is this so important? It isn't ... truthfully. Although I would really like to do this whole birth thing the natural way (of course I am not above accepting the epidural)! So why do I want to do it the natural way? Because I have a fear of doing pregnancy wrong. Even though many people I know, many wonderful mothers in fact gave birth by c-section, somehow I believe that this child birth thing is an experience I want. In the end, what I really want is for Amabo to come the safest way possible for her and for me ... and if that is via a c-section because she is a giant baby who refuses to turn then que sera!
On another note: In a recent email exchange with a good friend who has offered to dog sit and clean house while we are in the hospital laboring away (and when I say we, I mean me!), she wrote, "Knowing you, it will be a quick labor, which you will have pre-planned into 15 minute increments. Everyone, including A-bot [Amabo], will have a copy of the birthing itinerary, and they damn well better stick to it." I was pleased at this remark because it shows how well this friend truly knows me. It's true. And for the record, as part of the birthing plan it states that Amabo will not be in the breech position - clearly she has not read her copy of the plan! Really, though, I do everything by a schedule. When I was in college (not that I am proud of this ... well, yes I am), I used to take the syllabi for my classes and break out the number of pages, etc...that I had to read each night in order to get through the book/chapter/project by the due date. I clean by a schedule, I work by a schedule. Everything is a schedule. It is the way that I keep myself organized and therefore sane. I have a feeling the motherhood may change some of these things - in fact, pregnancy is teaching me in many ways to let go of the things that I cannot control. Clearly, I still believe that I can control the position that Miss Amabo is in!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Checking in with some Updates
Well today is February 4, 2009. That means only 58 calendar days to the expected due date; or about 8 weeks if you prefer. I am looking forward to holding her more than anything for the first time. Crying or not, I do not think I will be able to describe it, it will be cool.
I am still worried about the whole process but am getting much better at letting that go. I take one look into the world around us and know that I can handle this. It will be one of the hardest things I have ever done in life while being the most rewarding thing as well. Sort of reflects the normal trials and tribulations that life throws at us on a daily basis.
This weekend the baby showers commence. I think there are three planned. One this weekend, one in two weeks in Asheville, and another one in early March from her co-workers. This should be a good time and hopefully we will get some of the much needed stuff we are lacking at this point. I am not too worried about the kid going nekkid, but some other things sure would be nice.
We have a doctors appointment next week, should be a quick routine visit in and out. So far I have been able to make it to all the visits and hope to continue this till she gets here. We also have visited one pediatrician with another visit scheduled for next. I am not certain what to expect at these. I don’t think they are going to roll out the bloody doctor that admits to beating children while smoking a crack pipe. Instead the offices are all nicely groomed and doctors come out and chat about what to expect. I like the first one a little because they had an old doctor and a really young one. I think that would give us a wide range of treatment options.
Also next week we start birthing class or Lamaze class of you prefer. Again, no idea what to expect there, should be interesting. I am hoping my irreverence will get me through it or else I do know what might happen.
Thanks for all of you who read this. Also thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers during this process, we could not do it with you and the big guy upstairs.
I am still worried about the whole process but am getting much better at letting that go. I take one look into the world around us and know that I can handle this. It will be one of the hardest things I have ever done in life while being the most rewarding thing as well. Sort of reflects the normal trials and tribulations that life throws at us on a daily basis.
This weekend the baby showers commence. I think there are three planned. One this weekend, one in two weeks in Asheville, and another one in early March from her co-workers. This should be a good time and hopefully we will get some of the much needed stuff we are lacking at this point. I am not too worried about the kid going nekkid, but some other things sure would be nice.
We have a doctors appointment next week, should be a quick routine visit in and out. So far I have been able to make it to all the visits and hope to continue this till she gets here. We also have visited one pediatrician with another visit scheduled for next. I am not certain what to expect at these. I don’t think they are going to roll out the bloody doctor that admits to beating children while smoking a crack pipe. Instead the offices are all nicely groomed and doctors come out and chat about what to expect. I like the first one a little because they had an old doctor and a really young one. I think that would give us a wide range of treatment options.
Also next week we start birthing class or Lamaze class of you prefer. Again, no idea what to expect there, should be interesting. I am hoping my irreverence will get me through it or else I do know what might happen.
Thanks for all of you who read this. Also thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers during this process, we could not do it with you and the big guy upstairs.
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